Montmartre, Paris: A Walk With The Artists

Published/Revised June 28, 2014 By Marilyn McFarlane This post may contain promotional and affiliate links. EuropeUpClose may receive commissions for purchases made through links in this post. Please read our disclosure for more info.

The first time I saw Paris, many years ago, my friends and I headed for Montmartre. We’d seen the movies and heard the stories, and we weren’t about to miss this famous neighborhood. It seemed a bit tawdry, but we didn’t care. We went straight to the Moulin Rouge where we watched women in skimpy outfits dance onstage, while we tasted champagne. No one asked for ID. I had just turned seventeen. Did I mention this was a long time ago?

Moulin rouge at midnight

Montmartre, in the 18th arrondissement, has an intriguing history. Set upon a butte (the “mont”), it was rural, with working windmills and narrow, winding streets — no broad Haussmann-designed boulevards here, as there are in central Paris. And, this working-class neighborhood didn’t become part of the city until 1860. Montmartre was home to artists, writers, and performers looking for cheap lodgings and a tolerance for what some called decadence. Parisians and tourists alike were lured by the dance halls and cabarets.

The Moulin Rouge was the renowned venue for the can-can dancers that so fascinated Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec — and his paintings soon became symbols of the music hall. Over the years, operetta was performed, and singers such as Edith Piaf and Yves Montand held the stage. Now, tourists flock in to see extravaganzas, with dancers more skimpily clad than ever. Dinner and a show at the Moulin Rouge are expensive, and reservations are a must.

Cheret-Moulin Rouge Paris Cancan

Touring the area on The Little Train of Montmartre covers the main sights in 40 minutes (available mid-June to mid- September.) A walking tour, however, allows much more exploration. ParisWalks offers tours three times a week, leading visitors up the winding streets to see the old vineyard, artists’ studios, gardens, and the Sacré Coeur Basilica. Your guide will point out the sites where Picasso, Renoir, Salvador Dali, Monet, Vincent van Gogh, and many other artists lived and painted. Another great tour company is Sight Seekers Delight offering a more theatrical view of Paris.

If you want to walk on your own, pick up a map and try this route: Start at metro station Abbesses, one of the deep underground metro stations, and recently renovated. The curving ironwork entrance is one of two original entrances by Hector Guimard. At Places des Abbesses, you’ll see sidewalk cafes and a carousel – vintage Paris. From here, ride the funicular up to Sacré Coeur for a grand view, or take a longer route, walking rue des Abbesses and rue d’Orsel to leafy Place Charles Dullin. Here Théatre de l’Atelier presents plays on occasion.

A street in Montmartre

Continue on rue des Trois Frères to Progrès restaurant. This corner spot is a good place to enjoy a coffee at an outdoor table before climbing the stairs to Sacré Coeur. The immense white church, visible all over Paris, was built in memory of French soldiers. There’s a garden below, and nearby is Place du Tertre, which tourists are usually urged to avoid. It has a bizarre charm, though, with dozens of artists industriously painting at their easels and urging passersby to stop and have a sketch done.

Escape the crammed Place du Tertre by wandering the more quiet streets. You might encounter the statue of St-Denis, holding his head in his hands; Place Marcel Aymé, where there is a sculpture of a man seeming to emerge from a stone wall; or the famous Montmartre cemetery, resting place of many artists.

Stairway to Sacre Coeur

Montmartre has several noted restaurants. The charming and fairly inexpensiveL’été en pente douce has a pretty terrace and serves excellent salads and wines. If you saw the film Amelie, you may recognize Café des 2 Moulins, where Amelie worked. It’s a nice spot for a coffee and pastry. Le Moulin à Vins is an intimate wine bar/bistro serving traditional dishes such as coq au vin and lamb stew. There’s a good wine selection.

Le Crémaillère 1900 is next to Place du Tertre, but it’s removed from the crush of tourist action. You can dine on the terrace by the square or retreat to a courtyard garden and enjoy classic French food. In the evenings it offers dinner with a cabaret show. For something quite different, try No Stress Café, where you can get a massage or have your fortune told while you enjoy a Sunday brunch.

I’m a bit surprised to learn that tourists are usually urged to avoid Place du Tertre, which I’ve seen in vids and it seems like a quaint, charming little place (I’ve never been to Paris myself, but it’s a dream of mine!).

Sure, the artists there can be pushy (though, judging from the said vids, most of them seem either quietly absorbed in their sketching or sitting stoically by their easels), and the quality of the work may sometimes be sub-par, but I find it rather antithetical that people would visit a district famous for its bygone artists while ignoring their living, breathing “descendants”. You don’t have to actually sit for a portrait (though that would be a uinque experience), but at least pay tribute by visiting that place and seeing what those people are doing.

In fact, I’d rather pass the Sacré-Cœur!! People seem to like sitting on the steps in its foot overlooking the city, but for the building itself… Sainte-Chapelle and Saint-Sulpice (needless to mention, Notre Dame!) are much more exhilarating! I know that this comment is too opinionated for someone who has *never been to Paris*, but perhaps this goes to show how much of a Francophile I’m!

I too am a Francophile, but i have to agree with the author that Place du Tetra has more of a carny atmosphere. There are probably true artists mixed in with the rip-off-artists, but they are hard to find. If you love crowds, by all means dive right in, but be aware of pickpockets and “artists” who do a quick sketch and demand that you buy their work.